CHAMPION–April 19, 2010

        Champion is a bustling place–full of commerce, community and fellowship.  As for commerce, Henson’s Store on the North Side of the square is opening an annex on the West Side of the Square to serve as temporary quarters while the Historic Emporium undergoes some rehabilitation.  It may be disruptive and as a consequence a curiosity, but the end result will be that nothing of significance will have changed visibly while the substructure is vastly updated and stabilized.  As to community, the Skyline Area Volunteer Fire Department Ladies’ Auxiliary held its post Chili Supper meeting on Tuesday the 13th.  Those attending were President Betty Dye, Betty Henson, Esther Wrinkles, Fae Krider, Louise Hutchison, Sharon Sikes, Wilda Moses, and Susie, Karen and Tamara Griswold.  President Dye runs a tight productive meeting and the group addressed a few issues concerning upcoming events as well as some infrastructure maintenance.  The next meeting was scheduled for Tuesday, June 1st, at 7 p.m. at Henson’s Store.  Any fire department member interested in participating in the auxiliary is welcome to attend.  The refreshments are always delightful and the company is just splendid.  And finally, as to fellowship.  Champion is the perfect place to take a break from the arduous chores of farm living.  One can sit back with an orange soda or a Starbucks Frappaccino and pass the time of day with some of the most colorful and reticent yokels to be found.  They are Champions!

        It is easy to get behind with chores or with the news.  For those who have missed a couple of weeks, those complete articles are available in the Archives section of the Champion News.

  1. Champion is a place that accepts change gracefully and maintains its core values.
  2. Revisionism has a limited place in human affairs and is generally considered to be dangerous and fraught with potential for misunderstanding and conflict when everyone will not participate in the revising.
  3. Dillon Watts was in town with his entourage for the April First Celebration.
  4. The General: Hijacked the Easter Parade; Was compared favorably with Ebenezer Scrooge in that Ebenezer’s run-in with Bob Marley’s ghost caused him thereafter to keep the Spirit of Christmas all year and in a similar fashion, the General faithfully maintains the spirit of the First of April all year though nobody has determined what has caused him to be like this.
  5. Sharon Upshaw was recently recognized as having the Sweetest Smile in Missouri in a gala banquet celebrating her thirty-fifth wedding anniversary and that of the General which, curiously enough, is on the same day.  There was a great feast, much music and the joy of family and friends wishing them continued happiness.
  6. Bob Marley and Jacob Marley were confused.  Jacob Marley was the ghost, and Jacob Coon put the winning bid in on the March Mascot Monkey to help the Skyline VFD make it’s big truck payment.  Bob Marley sang, “Don’t Worry, Be Happy” and Bob Chadwell, erstwhile route 2 mail carrier, has a big bid in on the April Monkey in the month long silent auction.
  7. Bob Berry had a birthday on the 14th of April and several people paid taxes the next day and celebrated birthdays: Vivian Floyd, GG Jones and Dusty Mike, a disproportionately fortunate individual, who was spirited away by his ultra charming spouse to an adventurous sojourn that took him places he had never been.

That is seven salient excerpts.

        An email has come from Vicky Dooms.  “I am making a pile of things to bring for the picnic to donate.” [to the silent auction]

        Walt Whitman wrote, “In the door-yard fronting an old farm-house, near the white-wash’d palings, Stands the lilac bush, tall-growing, with heart-shaped leaves of rich green, With many a pointed blossom, rising, delicate, with the perfume strong I love, With every leaf a miracle……and from this bush in the door-yard, With delicate-color’d blossoms, and heart-shaped leaves of rich green, A sprig, with its flower, I break.”  This is from the poem “When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloomed” that was written as an elegy shortly after the assassination of President Lincoln in the month of April.  It has been since then often used to honor fallen soldiers.  It has its place now.  Various composers have set the piece to music, though many prefer just the beauty of the words to convey the deep sense of loss.  Love and Gratitude for their service is the due of all those serving the Nation in the dangerous parts of the world.

        “The barefoot boy with his shoes on came running down the street with his pants all full of pockets and his shoes all full of feet.”  This is part of one of the printable verses of “It’s Aint a Gonna Rain No More.”  Of course, it would be very nice if a good rain would come drifting toward Champion.  Things are mighty dry and it may be affecting the mushrooms as well as the fire hazard and the overeager gardeners.

        Linda’s Almanac from over at the Plant Place in Norwood says that the 16th and 17th and the 20th and 21st will be excellent days for planting crops that bear their yield above the ground.  All the blooming beautiful things just go to make Nature Lovers happy, but Grace Slick sings, “You’re only as pretty as you feel inside, only as pretty as you feel.”  This is the time of the year when the underutilized muscles…those lax from winter sloth are making themselves known.  Some old Champion Nature Lovers are hitting the anti-inflammatory tablets heavily and relying on horse liniment and Epsom salts to get them in good enough condition to get back out there and accomplish something.  The trouble with these old timers is they still have the ambition of young people…just not the steam.

        Report on your steam and how pretty you feel at Champion Items, Rt.  2, Box 367 Norwood, MO. 65717 or at Champion News.  Steam on in to Downtown Champion for a quality look at the Bright Side!

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